Building Officials Association of Florida
Protecting Lives and Property since 1953

Interpretation #8451

Published September 28, 2020

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Original Request

Code Version
2017
Code
RESIDENT
Code Description
Chapter
Chapter 3 Building Planning
Section
R301.2.1
Topic
Freestanding Townhouse

Question

Does a townhouse need to be structurally designed to stand in a hurricane without any help from its neighbors for wind lateral loads?

Answer Published 09/28/2020 at 6:52 AM

Yes. Please see the attached commentary

Commentary

Yes, Refer to R301.1 Buildings and structures, and parts thereof, shall be constructed to safely support all loads, .........wind loads and seismic loads as prescribed by this code. The construction of buildings and structures in accordance with the provisions of this code shall result in a system that provides a complete load path that meets the requirements for the transfer of loads.......... Based on this, each loading point would need to also address the wind.